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Nutrition, Vitamins & Supplements for Seniors
Do Low-Fat Foods Seduce Us into Obesity?
Mindless eating leads to 28-45% more calories
if
foods are 'low-fat'
December 8, 2006 - Recent Cornell studies in movie
theatres, holiday receptions, and homes showed people eat an average of
28% more total calories when they eat low-fat snacks than regular ones.
"Obese people can eat up to 45% more," reports lead researcher Brian
Wansink (Ph.D.), in the book, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We
Think.
"People dont realize that low-fat foods are not
always low-calorie foods," says Wansink. Fat is often replaced with
sugar. Low-fat snacks are an average of 11% lower in calories, but
people wrongly believe they are around 40% lower.
In one study, two groups of people attending a
holiday open-house were given identical regular chocolates that were
labeled as either "Regular" or as "Low-fat." People served themselves an
average of a third more of the candies, which would have translated into
28% more calories if they had actually been low-fat.
A second study showed this is because "people
believe they will feel less guilty eating the low-fat foods, so they
tend to overindulge, says Pierre Chandon, co-author and marketing
professor at INSEAD in France. Fat is often replaced with sugar.
The complete set of research studies, published in
the November issue of the Journal of Marketing Research, was cited by
the Economist as one of two significant noteworthy studies published
that month. It is titled, "Can Low-Fat Foods Lead to Obesity""
For policy makers and companies, the message is
that new "low-fat" foods are unlikely to solve the obesity solution.
People are very likely to over eat a low-fat foods even if they dont
like them as much as the regular versions.
For dieters, theres also clear message. As Wansink
advises in the book Mindless Eating, "Stick with the regular version,
but eat a little bit less. Its better for both your diet and your taste
buds."
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